Michael Frayn,

FRSL The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the ...

(; born 8 September 1933) is an English

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

. He is best known as the author of the farce '' Noises Off'' and the dramas ''

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

'' and ''

Democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

''. Frayn's novels, such as '' Towards the End of the Morning'', '' Headlong'' and '' Spies'', have also been critical and commercial successes, making him one of the handful of writers in the English language to succeed in both drama and prose fiction. He has also written philosophical works, such as ''The Human Touch: Our Part in the Creation of the Universe'' (2006).

Early life

Frayn was born at

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross, close to the Hertfordshire border. It was in the Historic counties of England, historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it b ...

, north London (then in

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

), to Thomas Allen Frayn, an

asbestos Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...

salesman from a working-class family of blacksmiths, locksmiths and servants and his wife Violet Alice (née Lawson). Violet was the daughter of a failed

palliasse A tick mattress, bed tick or tick is a large bag made of strong, stiff, tightly-woven material ( ticking). This is then filled to make a mattress, with material such as straw, chaff, horsehair, coarse wool or down feathers,Dictionnaire de l'a ...

merchant; having studied as a

violinist The following lists of violinists are available: * List of classical violinists * List of contemporary classical violinists * List of jazz violinists * List of popular music violinists * List of Indian violinists * List of Persian violinists * Li ...

at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

, she worked as a shop assistant and occasional clothes model at

Harrods Harrods is a Listed building, Grade II listed luxury department store on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It was designed by C. W. Stephens for Charles Digby Harrod, and opened in 1905; it replaced the first store on the ground ...

. After the slump in asbestos prices, Frayn's sister supported the family by also working at Harrods, as a children's hairdresser. Frayn grew up in

Ewell Ewell ( , ) is a town in Surrey, England, south of Centre of London, central London and northeast of Epsom. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census, it had a population of 34,872. The majority (73%) was in the NRS social grade, ABC1 ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, and was educated at Kingston Grammar School. Following two years of

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

, during which he learned Russian at the Joint Services School for Linguists, Frayn read Moral Sciences (

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

) at Emmanuel College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, graduating in 1957. He then worked as a reporter and columnist for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' and ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'', where he established a reputation as a

satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Early satirical authors *Aes ...

and comic writer, and began publishing his plays and novels.

Theatre work

Frayn's play ''

'' deals with a historical event, a 1941 meeting between the Danish

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

Niels Bohr Niels Henrik David Bohr (, ; ; 7 October 1885 – 18 November 1962) was a Danish theoretical physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and old quantum theory, quantum theory, for which he received the No ...

and his protégé, the German

Werner Heisenberg Werner Karl Heisenberg (; ; 5 December 1901 – 1 February 1976) was a German theoretical physicist, one of the main pioneers of the theory of quantum mechanics and a principal scientist in the German nuclear program during World War II. He pub ...

, when Denmark is under German occupation, and Heisenberg is—maybe?—working on the development of an

atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...

. Frayn was attracted to the topic because it seemed to 'encapsulate something about the difficulty of knowing why people do what they do and there is a parallel between that and the impossibility that Heisenberg established in physics, about ever knowing everything about the behaviour of physical objects'. The play explores various possibilities. Frayn's more recent play ''

'' ran successfully in London (the National Theatre, 2003-4 and West End transfer),

and on Broadway ( Brooks Atkinson Theatre, 2004-5); it dramatised the story of the German chancellor

Willy Brandt Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and concurrently served as the Chancellor ...

and his personal assistant, the East German spy Günter Guillaume. Five years later, again at the National Theatre, it was followed by ''

Afterlife The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's Stream of consciousness (psychology), stream of consciousness or Personal identity, identity continues to exist after the death of their ...

'', a biographical drama of the life of the great Austrian impresario

Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his radically innovative and avant-gard ...

, director of the

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

Festival, which opened at the Lyttelton Theatre in June 2008, starring Roger Allam as Reinhardt. Frayn's other original plays include two evenings of short plays, '' The Two of Us'' and ''Alarms and Excursions'', the philosophical comedies ''Alphabetical Order'', '' Benefactors'', ''Clouds'', ''Make and Break'' and '' Here'', and the farces '' Donkeys' Years'', '' Balmoral'' (also known as ''Liberty Hall''), and '' Noises Off'', which critic

Frank Rich Frank Hart Rich Jr. (born June 2, 1949) is an American essayist and liberal op-ed columnist, who held various positions within ''The New York Times'' from 1980 to 2011. He has also produced television series and documentaries for HBO. Rich is ...

wrote in his book ''The Hot Seat'' "is, was, and probably always will be the funniest play written in my lifetime."

Novels

Frayn's novels include ''Headlong'' (shortlisted for the 1999

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

), '' The Tin Men'' (won the 1966 Somerset Maugham Award), '' The Russian Interpreter'' (1967,

Hawthornden Prize The Hawthornden Prize is a British literary award given annually to a British, Irish or British-based author for a work of "imaginative literature" – including poetry, novels, history, biography and creative non-fiction – published in the pre ...

), '' Towards the End of the Morning'', '' Sweet Dreams'', '' A Landing on the Sun'', '' A Very Private Life'', '' Now You Know'' and '' Skios'' (long-listed for the Man Booker Prize in 2012). His novel '' Spies'' was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize and won the

Whitbread Prize The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in United Kingdom, UK and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first ...

for Fiction in 2002.

Non-fiction

Frayn has written a book about philosophy, ''Constructions'', and a book of his own philosophy, ''The Human Touch''. Frayn's columns for ''

'' and ''

'' (collected in ''At Bay in Gear Street, The Day of the Dog'', ''The Book of Fub'' and ''On the Outskirts'') are models of the comic essay; in the 1980s a number of them were adapted and performed for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

by Martin Jarvis. Frayn has also written screenplays for the films ''

Clockwise Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions or senses of rotation. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands relative to the observer: from the top to the right, then down and then to ...

'', starring

John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...

, ''First and Last'' starring Tom Wilkinson, ''Birthday'', ''Jamie on a Flying Visit'', and the TV series ''Making Faces'', starring Eleanor Bron.

Translation

Frayn learned Russian during his period of National Service. Frayn is now considered to be Britain's finest translator of

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

(''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' () is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 in literature, 1895 and first produced in 1896 in literature#Drama, 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramati ...

'', '' Uncle Vanya'', '' Three Sisters'' and ''

The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' () is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by '' Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate edition later that year in Saint Petersburg, via A.F. Marks Pu ...

''), including an early untitled work, which he titled '' Wild Honey'' (other translations of the work have called it '' Platonov'' or ''Don Juan in the Russian Manner''). From four of Chekhov's short stories and four of his one-act plays Frayn devised '' The Sneeze'' (originally performed on the West End by Rowan Atkinson). Frayn has also translated Yuri Trifonov's play ''Exchange'',

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

's '' The Fruits of Enlightenment'', and

Jean Anouilh Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; ; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist and screenwriter whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ...

's ''Number One''.

Television

In 1980, Frayn presented the Australian journey of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television series '' Great Railway Journeys of the World''. His journey took him from

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

on the Indian Pacific, with side visits to the Lithgow Zig Zag and a journey on

The Ghan ''The Ghan'' () is an experiential tourism-oriented passenger train service that operates between the northern and southern coasts of Australia, through the cities of Adelaide, Alice Springs and Darwin on the Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor ...

's old route from Marree to

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

shortly before the opening of the new line from Tarcoola to

Personal life

Frayn has three daughters with his first wife, Gillian Palmer:

Rebecca Rebecca () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical tradition, Rebecca's father was Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, also called Aram-Naharaim. Rebecca's brother was Laban (Bi ...

, a documentary film maker, writer and actress; Susanna; and Jenny, a television producer. Frayn and his second wife, Claire Tomalin, a

biographer Biographers are authors who write an account of another person's life, while autobiographers are authors who write their own biography. Biographers Countries of working life: Ab=Arabia, AG=Ancient Greece, Al=Australia, Am=Armenian, AR=Ancient Rome ...

and literary

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, live in

Petersham, London Petersham is a village in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the east of the bend in the River Thames south of Richmond, London, Richmond, which it shares with neighbouring Ham, London, Ham. It provides the foreground of the sce ...

Awards

* 1966: Somerset Maugham Award, for '' The Tin Men'' * 1975: London Evening Standard Award (Best Comedy), for ''Alphabetical Order'' * 1976:

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...

(Comedy of the Year), for '' Donkeys' Years'' * 1980: London Evening Standard Award (Best Comedy), for ''Make and Break'' * 1982: London Evening Standard Award (Best Comedy), for '' Noises Off'' * 1982:

(Comedy of the Year), for ''Noises Off'' * 1984: London Evening Standard Award (Best Play), for '' Benefactors'' * 1986: New York Drama Critics' Circle Award (Best Foreign Play), for ''Benefactors'' * 1990:

International Emmy Awards The International Emmy Awards, or International Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based International Academy of Television Arts and Sc ...

(Best Drama), for ''First and Last'' (

) * 1991:

Sunday Express Book of the Year The ''Daily Express#Sunday Express, Sunday Express'' Book of the Year also known as The Sunday Express Fiction Award was awarded between 1987 and 1993. Worth £20,000 for the winner and £1,000 for each of the five shortlisted authors, it was the ...

, for '' A Landing on the Sun'' * 1998: Critics' Circle Theatre Awards (Best New Play), for ''

'' * 1998: London Evening Standard Award (Best Play), for ''Copenhagen'' * 2000:

Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cere ...

(Best Play), for ''Copenhagen'' * 2000: New York Drama Critics' Circle Award (Best Foreign Play), for ''Copenhagen'' * 2002: Whitbread Novel Award, for ''Spies'' (the 2002 Whitbread Book of the Year Award went to his wife Claire Tomalin) * 2002: Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for ''Spies'' * 2003: Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Europe and South Asia Best Book), for ''Spies'' * 2003: London Evening Standard Award (Best Play), for ''

'' * 2003: Golden PEN Award * 2005: Honorary DLitt from the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

* 2006:

St. Louis Literary Award The St. Louis Literary Award has been presented yearly since 1967 to a distinguished figure in literature. It is sponsored by the Saint Louis University Library Associates. Winners Past Recipients of the Award: *2025 Colson Whitehead *2024 J ...

from the

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Missi ...

Library Associates He is an honorary associate of the

National Secular Society The National Secular Society (NSS) is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of it. The Soc ...

, and declined a CBE and a knighthood in 1989 and 2003 respectively.

Bibliography

Novels

*'' The Tin Men'' (1965) *'' The Russian Interpreter'' (1966) *'' Towards the End of the Morning'' (US title: ''Against Entropy'') (1967) *'' A Very Private Life'' (1968) *'' Sweet Dreams'' (1973) *'' The Trick of It'' (1989) *'' A Landing on the Sun'' (1991)''New Statesman and Society.'' IV, 13 September 1991, p. 39. *'' Now You Know'' (1993) * ''Headlong'' (1999) *'' Spies'' (2002) *'' Skios'' (2012)

Plays

Newly-written

* '' The Two of Us'', four one-act plays for two actors (1970) ''Black and Silver, Mr. Foot, Chinamen, and The new Quixote'' * ''

Alphabetical Order Alphabetical order is a system whereby character strings are placed in order based on the position of the characters in the conventional ordering of an alphabet. It is one of the methods of collation. In mathematics, a lexicographical order is ...

'' (1975) * '' Donkeys' Years'' (1977) * ''

Clouds In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles, suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may c ...

'' (1977) * '' Balmoral'' (1978; revised 1980 as ''Liberty Hall'', revised 1987) * '' Make and Break'' (1980) * '' Noises Off'' (1982) * '' Benefactors'' (1984) * ''The Sneeze'' (1988), based on short stories and plays of Chekhov * ''First and Last'' (1989) * '' Listen to This: Sketches and Monologues'' (1990) * '' Jamie on a Flying Visit; and Birthday'' (1990) * '' Look Look'' (1990) * ''

Audience An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), or ...

'' (1991) * '' Here'' (1993) * '' La Belle Vivette'', a version of

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. He was a p ...

's ''La Belle Hélène'' (1995) * '' Alarms and Excursions: More Plays than One'' (1998) * ''

'' (1998) * ''

'' (2003

https://web.archive.org/web/20071011101342/http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/Michael%20Frayn%20on%20Democracy+7664.twl] * ''

'' (2008

* '' Matchbox Theatre: Thirty Short Entertainments'' (2014),

Translated

* ''

'', from Chekhov (1978) * '' The Fruits of Enlightenment'', from Tolstoy (1979) * '' Three Sisters'', from Chekhov (1983, revised 1988) * ''Number One'', from

's ''Le Nombril'' (1984) * '' Wild Honey'', from Chekhov (1984) * ''

'', from Chekhov (1986) * '' Uncle Vanya'', from Chekhov (1986) * ''Exchange'', adapted from Yuri Trifonov (1990)

Anthologies

* ''Plays: One'' (1985), – contains: ''Alphabetical Order''; ''Donkey's Years''; ''Clouds''; ''Make and Break''; ''Noises Off'' * ''Plays: Two'' (1991), – contains: ''Balmoral''; ''Benefactors''; ''Wild Honey'' * ''Plays: Three'' (2000), – contains: ''Here''; ''Now You Know''; ''La Belle Vivette'' * ''Plays: Four'' (2010), – contains: ''Copenhagen''; ''Democracy''; ''Afterlife''

Short fiction

*''Speak After The Beep: Studies in the Art of Communicating With Inanimate and Semi-Animate Objects'' (1995).

Non-fiction

*''The Day of the Dog'', articles reprinted from ''The Guardian'' (1962). *''The Book of Fub'', articles reprinted from ''The Guardian'' (1963). *''On the Outskirts'', articles reprinted from ''The Observer'' (1964). *''At Bay in Gear Street'', articles reprinted from ''The Observer'' (1967). *''The Original Michael Frayn'', a collection of the above four, plus 19 new ''Observer'' pieces. *''Constructions'', a volume of philosophy (1974). *''Celia's Secret: An Investigation'' (US title ''The Copenhagen Papers'' ), with David Burke (2000). *''The Human Touch: Our part in the creation of the universe'' (2006). *''Stage Directions: Writing on Theatre, 1970–2008'' (2008), his path into theatre and a collection of the introductions to his plays. *''Travels with a Typewriter'' (2009), a collection of Frayn's travel pieces from the 1960s and '70s from ''The Guardian'' and the ''Observer''. *''My Father's Fortune: A Life'' (2010), a memoir of Frayn's childhood. * ''Among Others: Friendships and Encounters'' (2023), another memoir.

Notes

References

* Theatre Record and its annual Indexes

External links

*
Michael Frayn
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

*
Profile
on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

(archived 2007-10-21) * *
Profile at United Agents
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frayn, Michael 1933 births Living people 20th-century British military personnel 20th-century English novelists 21st-century English novelists Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge English dramatists and playwrights English male dramatists and playwrights English male novelists English republicans Fellows of St Catherine's College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature International Emmy Award winners Laurence Olivier Award winners Military personnel from the London Borough of Barnet Military personnel from the London Borough of Hounslow People educated at Kingston Grammar School People from Chiswick People from Mill Hill Russian–English translators Tony Award winners